Staff Playlist #8: The 2000s
As well as being the first full decade of No Ripcord, the 2000s was the decade where the music we listened to and how we listened to it was influenced by technology. Napster appeared at the tail-end of the 20th Century to start the whole thing off, but can you now imagine a world without downloads, podcasts, iTunes, mp3 players, YouTube and album streams?
Luckily you don't have to, and this - the latest in our series of collaborative staff playlists - makes full use of technological advances. So, if you want to listen to it on last.fm, you can. If you want to listen on Grooveshark, you can. If you want to listen on 8tracks, you can. If you want to listen on Spotify, you can (provided you're in Europe). If you want to contact us via Twitter, you can. If you love this playlist so much you want to erect a statue in No Ripcord's honour, you can do that too, although we don't have a link for that. While you're deciding on whether to use marble or granite, why not read all about why we've chosen this great selection of tracks?
The Libertines - I Get Along
Punk never dies. Every once in a while, a band comes along to redefine it, capture the imagination of youth, and set a new course. In 2002, The Libertines were it, but drugs and the constant infighting between Carl Barât and Pete Doherty led to an early demise. Within a short span, the naughtiest of noughties bands gave us a string of great songs. I’ve chosen I Get Along because, in true punk spirit, it carries a defiance that is larger than life. The bridge always make me smile, starting like a show tune and ending with a wicked, “fuck ‘em”. I won’t hold my breath for that long-promised reunion album. Last time I checked, the battle of egos raged on. What a waster. Angel Aguilar
Johnny Boy - You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve
If the 2000s produced a better pop song than this, the sensational debut single from Liverpool duo Johnny Boy, I'd very much like to hear it. Inspired by Phil Spector (the opening drumbeat is straight out of Be My Baby), You Are The Generation... is a modern update on the Wall of Sound, with bells, brass, guitars and gorgeous harmonies jostling for position in the mix. As the song roars towards its thrilling climax, there's an awful lot going on, but it never sounds overdone, which is a tremendous credit to producer James Dean Bradfield. Johnny Boy's tragedy was that they simply couldn't follow this up. After a perfect start, the only way is down. David Coleman
The Futureheads – First Day
In 2004, things were looking rather dim in regards to UK-based guitar rock. Seemingly out of nowhere, The Futureheads blazed onto the scene with First Day, a brash, two-minute disarray that instantly pulverized a thousand dainty gentlemen and their deferential Gallagher complex. Not only did the Sunderland lads re-energize the local scene, but they also left much to talk about overseas with their no-frills post-punk treatment. Time hasn’t been as kind to them, partly due to the niche genre to which they cater, but their exceedingly confident tunes never go down without a good fight. Juan Edgardo Rodriguez
M83 - Unrecorded
This song makes me feel like I’m about to do something epic. I work in a rock climbing gym, and if I get to work early enough I’ll find a co-worker and work a few routes, with this song playing in the background. It makes it all feel that much more badass. I also use it on my walks to work if it’s cloudy or stormy out, because it makes me feel like I’m walking through the rain to an enormous battle. But beyond the awesome atmosphere, it’s one of M83’s finest songs. It’s full of perfectly intertwined, layered synth arpeggios and booming, distorted leads that would make Muse shit themselves. Andrew Baer
Joanna Newsom - Emily
The resurgence of folk music in the 2000s probably should be represented on this playlist somewhere and it should be represented by the most talented/unique artist from the movement. Yes, Joanna Newsom's little girl voice may be slightly offputting (I found it to be something of an acquired taste - irritating at first, but now a key part of her appeal), but you really can't fault her musical ability, or her ambition. Arguably records as vast as Ys - with its incredibly lengthy tracks, richly detailed narratives and Van Dyke Park's lush orchestrations - hadn't been attempted since the 70s, and with the music industry now in a rather sorry state, we probably won't hear much of their like in the future either. Mark Davison
The Black Lips - Drugs
I don’t think this song is one of the best of the decade, but it certainly is one of my favorites. It’s a simple song - simple chords, simple lyrics, simple structure - but it just gives off a perfect feeling. It captures the first feelings of a relationship, the first nights together and (illegal) fun with friends. It’s goofy and fun, and seeing it live is one of my more positive memories. It’s a song I always play later in the spring and early in the summer, so right about now. It just feels right. Andrew Baer
Madvillain - Accordion
While mainstream hip-hop in the 2000s got worryingly predictable, the underground scene was as inventive as ever. Madvillain was stoned, laid-back, stream-of-consciousness rap. It was cartoonish; Madlib’s beats sample cheesy superhero shows, and MF DOOM has never appeared without his Marvel Comics-inspired mask. DOOM’s flow is incomparable, handling his knotted internal rhymes and alliterations with effortless dexterity – never have I been so willing to believe a rapper’s “illest ever” braggadocio. Madlib’s minor-key accordion and soft drum machines are subtle, but the impact of those sweet bass hits is so finely measured. The beat wouldn’t match any other rapper – Madvillain was a perfect partnership. Stephen Wragg
Rilo Kiley - Does He Love You?
Pop appears to be constantly preoccupied with youth and lust. It's understandable - those heady times and powerful emotions are a potent mix - but where are the songs about getting older, long-term relationships and commitment? Rilo Kiley's 2004 album, More Adventurous, dealt with what it meant to enter your 30s in the 21st Century, and nowhere was it explored better than on Does He Love You? The song tells the story of two old friends; one happily married, pregnant and with a flourishing small business, the other in the midst of a fling in an attempt to recapture her lost youth. It opens delicately and sweetly, but as the track progresses, the real stories begin to unfold, leading to a marvellous twist and a thundering climax. Does He Love You? is almost musically onomatopoeic in the way the instrumentation builds and builds to mirror the revelations and tension in the tale. Remarkably, Rilo Kiley pack more narrative, characterisation and drama into five minutes than the average Hollywood movie does into one hundred and you come to realise that your heart will probably always rule your head, regardless of how old you are. Joe Rivers
Iron & Wine - Cinder and Smoke
I’m a sucker for almost every song on Our Endless Numbered Days. This album was my first introduction to Iron & Wine and I was absolutely thrilled upon this discovery. You must understand that this was a time when Jack Johnson and Dave Matthews fans ruled the world, and I was so sick of hearing about the damn Banana Pancakes I almost swore off all men with acoustic guitars. Samuel Beam really saved the day with Cinder and Smoke. He’s basically humming throughout this song and hitting the same chord over and over again, and I thought it was the most impressive thing in the world. I love how hypnotic it is. He shows amazing control over his vocals and the writing is beautiful. Bonfires were no longer painful for me. Thank you, Iron & Wine. Randi Dietiker
Camera Obscura – The False Contender
Though the noughties were infamous for rehashing the past with an added coating, the songs that resonate most to me are the ones that were purely classical in design. It didn’t take long for Tracyanne Campbell to break the Belle & Sebastian silhouette with Let’s Get Out of This Country, a fistful of country-tinged schmaltz that was too endearingly personal to ignore. The topic at hand in The False Contender isn’t unfamiliar: Campbell questions the idea of perpetual love with a severe dose of denial. All it takes is a French accordion and a snare march to dictate Campbell’s crestfallen mood; the more she distanced herself, the more I couldn’t help falling for her. Juan Edgardo Rodriguez
Electrelane - After the Call
There's nothing particularly groundbreaking about Electrelane, or quintessentially noughties for that matter, but then when I think of the genuinely influential bands of the decade, I think of acts that nobody has much of an interest in hearing again (for example, nu-rave and autotune were important aspects of the decade's musical development, but I really don't want to inflict Klaxons or T-Pain on anybody). Far better to have a modest, but incredibly consistent act such as Electrelane on there instead. After the Call, from their final album, No Shouts, No Calls, sums up a large part of their appeal - elegant yet unafraid of getting a bit chaotic and noisy when necessary. Mark Davison
Wilco - Ashes of American Flags
If any song captured the elegiac, unmoored mood of America in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, it was this. All the better that it was recorded long before that historically shitty day, and that it was originally planned for release on, you guessed it, 9/11/2001. It’s a beautiful song, even removed from that weighty context, but that’s how I’m always going to think of it. Nowhere else do Wilco’s soundscapes seem more hauntingly appropriate. Alan Shulman
Dizzee Rascal - I Luv U
He may now be more associated with club-friendly chart-toppers (which, let's be honest, are still usually pretty amazing), but in 2003, Dizzee Rascal was just an unknown MC living in Bow, East London. He burst onto the scene with debut single, I Luv U: a brutal tale of teenage pregnancy, mistrust and the struggle to escape urban deprivation. If this were released today, it would still sound fresh and exciting, but the fact it's eight years old is astonishing. I Luv U brought grime to the mainstream with its mixture of sparse, syncopated beats, minimalist bass stabs and oppresive heavy breathing accompaniment. Dizzee observes the depressing tale, originally from the outside, but gets more involved as the story wears on. Initially it appears he's concerned for the man getting blackmailed by the pregnant girl ("It's a real shame you got hacked by the whores / It's a shame that kid probably ain't yours"), but it transpires he's just as self-centred and sex-obsessed as any of them ("I like your girl but you better look after your girl / Or I might take your girl and make your girl my girl / Switch your girl with Michelle / Switch Michelle with Chanelle"). It's an unabashed look into real life in a genre often too fond of mythologising and glamorising, and a reminder of the very real talent that is Dizzee Rascal. Joe Rivers
Röyksopp - What Else Is There? (Thin White Duke remix)
A collaboration between Norwegian masters of trip-hop electronica Röyksopp and The Knife/Fever Ray's Karin Dreijer Andersson was always going to give rise to something rather special. Add the producer-of-the-time Stuart "Thin White Duke" Price to the mix, and you end up with a track that is nothing short of genius. By their very nature, remixes are always intended to bring a new angle to a song, but this remix goes way beyond that. It changes the haunting and beautiful (but sombre) original into an entirely different song; one that is uplifting, joyful and downright euphoric. Stuart Price may be more known for producing Madonna, Take That, Scissor Sisters and the Killers or, even worse, for "that music in the dancing robotic car advert", but for me, this is undoubtedly his finest work to date. Craig Stevens
Björk - Pagan Poetry
Björk's music was at its most accessible and world-conquering on Post. By contrast, 2001's Vespertine is probably her most introverted work, with intimate songs, hushed micro-beats and glacial, otherworldly arrangements. From that album comes Pagan Poetry, replete with buzzing bass, swirling harp and the pristine sound of music boxes. Björk's delivery gives the song room to breathe whilst adding a sense of closeness to every syllable. Gary McGinley
Bright Eyes - First Day of My Life
As with many of my contemporaries, First Day of My Life, taken from the gorgeous I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, was my first introduction to Bright Eyes. An introduction for which I am eternally grateful. It remains my favourite Bright Eyes song to date - it's the band at their purest and their strongest; stripped back, with seventh chords and arpeggio guitar in all the right places, and a melody line that perfectly suits Conor Oberst's wavering melodic tones. A simple, well-structured and beautifully written song. Craig Stevens
Bowling For Soup - Girl All The Bad Guys Want
In an attempt to bless this entry with some semblance of sophistication, I'd like to stress the significance of the seat that Bowling For Soup have, in these, their mortal days, doggedly carved for themselves amidst the heavenly collective of musical greats in the sky. That said, and with straight face successfully maintained, I'd now like to tell you, with not a hint of irony, why their stand-out single, the inimitable Girl All The Bad Guys Want, is one of the greats of the last decade and highly deserving of its place here alongside such esteemed company. It harks back to a time when people could wear cargo shorts and skater shoes and when American alt-rock wasn't yet a well-worn joke. With a knowingly un-reigned style of self-derision; alongside that resounding riff it caricatures a world that's "like a bad movie" in which the girl "likes 'em with a moustache / [a] Racetrack season pass / Driving in a Trans-Am," and indeed begging the question: "Does a mullet make a man?" That final enigma perhaps demonstrates the underlying qualities of the record: it's stupid, it's ridiculous, but it's undeniably entertaining, and, if you'll just lock away your sensibilities and preconceptions for a little over three minutes, I think you'll agree. Joe Iliff
The Microphones - I Felt Your Shape
At the start of the 2000s, before he added an extra 'e' to his surname and briefly lost his way in the early days of Mount Eerie, Phil Elvrum released a string of great albums as The Microphones. While the 2003 concept album Mount Eerie holds a special place in my heart, my favourite Microphones song has to be the beautiful I Felt Your Shape. Although it's basically just a gentle male vocal and a sparse acoustic guitar, I Felt Your Shape really doesn't sound like anything else, anywhere. The emotions of the song - loss, longing, vulnerability - are just stunningly captured, too. If you've experienced heartbreak or unrequited love, this is powerfully resonant stuff. Elvrum has received a lot of acclaim for his production work, but this is a reminder that the guy can also write great, timeless songs. David Coleman
The Flaming Lips - Are You a Hypnotist??
I have to come right out and admit that this is probably my favorite song of the decade. My reasons are as elemental as they can get – I just love the way it sounds. The staccato drumming, the cavernous guitar notes, the plaintive organ, and Wayne Coyne’s vulnerable vocal, that’s about all there is to this track. But when it all gels like this, what else do you need? Alan Shulman
As per usual, feedback and your own choices for the playlist are welcomed via the Disqus form below.